Behind the rhetoric of “simplification” for “competitiveness” lies a deregulatory agenda: a tsunami of Omnibus packages to cut rules for certain businesses, hailed as an €8 billion saving. Yet the Commission’s own review shows that failing to implement existing EU environmental law already costs €180 billion every year.
This deregulation push comes with no evidence of benefits for society or the economy – and directly contradicts the International Court of Justice’s recent opinion that climate obligations are not aspirational but binding, substantive and enforceable. States have a duty to prevent environmental harm, cooperate internationally, and uphold fundamental rights as climate risks escalate.
We acknowledge positive signals on social justice, the Circular Economy Act, affordable housing, stronger power grids, action on disinformation and democratic safeguards. But these steps are overshadowed by a deregulatory agenda that strikes at the heart of the Green Deal – compounded by the lack of dedicated funding for environmental action in the proposed MFF.
“Today’s speech was not a State of the Union – it was a state of delusion about the triple climate, nature and pollution crisis, and the solutions needed,” said Patrick ten Brink, Secretary General of the European Environmental Bureau.
“President von der Leyen invoked the power of the European Green Deal, yet put corporate wish-lists ahead of people and planet. She spoke of saving the EU, yet 2025 has so far been about dismantling the very environmental acquis that makes Europe strong and resilient. The true cost of inaction – both human and economic – far outweighs the supposed savings trumpeted today, and will ultimately undermine Europe’s competitiveness and stability. Believing we can deregulate our way out of the climate, pollution and nature crises is a dangerous illusion that threatens Europe’s security and erodes trust in the Union.”
By unravelling the EU’s common rules in the name of competitiveness, the Commission risks fuelling polarisation, triggering a race to the bottom with China and the US, and undermining the very foundations of the European project.
